Climbing the mountain

David Reynolds believes he's ticked all the boxes asked of him this season and next weekend he hopes to tick the biggest box of all by winning the Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000.

Reynolds and co-driver Dean Canto have come tantalisingly close in recent years, finishing 0.31 seconds behind Jamie Whincup and Paul Dumbrell in 2012, and looking strong last year before an alternator failure meant shutting down the Falcon while in the lead. He and Canto had powered from the back of the grid after Reynolds' crashed in qualifying.

With his contract up at Prodrive Racing Australia at the end of the season, Reynolds was given stern instructions both publicly and privately at the start of the season - start bringing in some results.

The 30-year old believes he's done what he has been asked - and now is looking for that Peter Brock Trophy that has been so close, yet so far in the past.

"Definitely me and Deano want to stand on the top step," Reynolds told v8supercars.com.au.

"I don't want - it'd be great to come third and second and what not but everyone wants to win that race."

He has gone under the radar this year - other than winning in Darwin and drinking champagne from his boot - but Reynolds is also in contention for the Championship.

He overtook Craig Lowndes for third place after his fifth place Sandown finish, and while the gap of 360 points is just over what is earned across one event, it's definitely not insurmountable.

Consistency and racing up the front has been key - and Reynolds feels he has delivered for Prodrive this time, his previous best Championship finish ninth in 2012 and '13.

"For me, I can't really do anything more than my results already for my team," Reynolds said.

"They wanted me to get some good results, so I got some good results. They wanted me to be consistent, I'm consistent.

"I'm top three in the Championship, I'm hitting all the targets, I don't think Bathurst - whether I win, lose, draw, whatever - it's not a bearing on next year."

Team boss Tim Edwards agreed Reynolds had done a fantastic job both on and off the track.

"He's definitely upped his game this year, no doubt about it," Edwards told v8supercars.com.au.

"We were quite vocal both internally externally and at the start of this year that he really needed to deliver. And he has - he's third in the championship, he's done a fantastic job.

"It's not just what you see on the track, he's done a great job off track as well, he's been more focused and more prepared for meetings so it's been a new David Reynolds this year.

"To be considered for an ongoing drive here, that's was the first box he had to tick. And he's done that."

However Edwards was cryptic about Reynolds' standing for next year.

"There's a lot of factors that come into play, but obviously we're getting closer to crunch time now about what we're going to do next year."

It has been somewhat a fairy-tale season for Prodrive, who pulled up short last year in the Championship with Mark Winterbottom leading early but falling to third by the end of the season. This time around the team has locked out the top three.

And while 360 points is more than he'd earn from a Bathurst win, Reynolds knows it's not an impossible task.

"It sounds like a lot but if you come to me after the next three rounds I'll tell you how much it is!" he said.

"I'm third in the Championship, which is the best year I've had to date, so I'm very, very happy.

"It's been a very slow grind since Adelaide when we had the old car and then I got the new, much faster, updated version of the new Ford and I've been learning it since then.

"It's just been going better and better every time we roll out so consistency has been a big key for me."